Thinking of Getting a Peterson

[captainsousie]

So I have been hearing so much about Peterson pipes and I have decided I want to get one. I see some good pipes and some good prices but I thought I might ask the PM Forum jury. Do you have a recommendation on a new or estate Pete at $50-65-ish? I've seen a few in that range but thought some of you might have some insight on the subject. Do I need to hold off until my next paycheck so I have a bigger PAD fund or is it possible in this range?
Thanks,

Sou

 

[mrgunnar177]

Smoking pipes.com has a really good deal on a system Pete on their estate part of the site check it out. I love Pete's

 

[baronsamedi]

If you want a new one, I say hold out and find one you really want. I have the 303 in Ebony finish and it was about $100.

 

[captainsousie]

Thanks for the great input. As for what shapes/stem I am thinking I'll start with a fishtail because that's what I'm used to and I really like bent, smooth pipes. I did think about one of the Christmas Petes on Cup O' Joes since I am a kid at heart and Christmas is always good. I am not in a rush so I can wait for a good one but I am as Scotch as it gets and have only bought cheap pipes so far so $100+ will be quite the change of pace (but probably worth it).
Thanks again,

Sou

 

[mrenglish]

It is worth the wait. Once you hit the $100 range, a vast section of Peterson's open up for your spending enjoyment.

 

[foggymountain]

For more information see thepetersoninternationalpipeclub.runboard.com They are great pipes with a few reservations. The drilling could be better, on the Petes under about $200 the pipes are dipped in stain which is a nuisance when breaking them in, the stems don't always fit right and there is a space between the mortise & tenon which really shouldn't be there because it holds moisture. Nonetheless I quite love them and have about 3 dozen. The pipes that cost $200+ are a different breed than the less expensive ones and much better.

 

[taerin]

I love them, their cheaper ones tend to be pretty low quality, with very good stain jobs to make the pipes look fancy. I had to return 3/4 of them because they had huge flaws like part of the rim missing entirely, comming with a band that had an incorrectly drilled hole, causing it to gouge the stem to hell, and stuff like that... But the 4th one I love even though it has 3 giant fills in it and the rim was not cut totally round, a little jagged. The briar also feels really cheap, I think I am going to get an estate higher quality one next time.

 

[rigmedic1]

Out of 10 Pete's, I haven't ever found a bad one. The best smoking Pete I have is a system x315, which has a nice sized bowl and P-lip. The downside is that in the humidity of the swamp I live in, the moisture reservoir fills quickly and must be drained after every smoke. Kinda messy. I bought an estate 2009 St. Patrick's Day 150 recently, and for an entry level Pete it is a great smoke. If you don't want to deal with the break in issues, then get an estate pipe. Almost all of mine are pre-owned, and even Mark Twain preferred to hire someone to break his pipes in for him.

 

[papipeguy]

I agree with the advice to go for a $100+ Pete. I have 2 that were under $100 and, honestly, they are just so-so pipes. One is a bent bulldog and one is a P-lipped billiard that never seems to draw right. I understand that the higher end pipes are exceptional so save up and do it right the first time.

I worked for a company president who was fond of saying, "It costs so little to go first class." Took me awhile to understand that but once you make a decision to comitt money to something going for a few bucks more will give you more satisfaction.

Good luck with your search.

 

[thesmokindragon]

IMHO; I have a Pete (268/p-lip) that was under the $100. mark and it just

smokes so-so, a gifted one I gave to my brother was a smooth/straight

Walnut spigot billiard which he said smokes great at $150.00 (smoking

mainly Aro blends in it)
Not to sway you away from Pete's, but I have some exceptional

Stanwell smokers at around the $100. mark, also perhaps a

Storient Meer would be sweet as well, no rest times, etc
If you take it to the $200 mark you would be better off getting a hand-made

from masters such as Balkovec, Hackert, Tinsky, Ser Jac, etc

pipe makers

 

[lazydog]

It seems there is an abundance of older Petes on Ebay. If you want to spend the time to search one out and are willing to go the Ebay route and don't find offense with a used briar, this might be the route to go. I have seen posts that relate a possible lowering of quality even with new Petersons. IMHO I'd rather buy a Stanwell or Nording.

 

[kalc]

I hav 8 peterson pipes - they seem pretty good to me - all are brand new though. I particularly like the system pipe as it is very easy to remove , clean & reattach the stem. Also the P-lips are a good way to save the tongue as long as the roof of the mouth is ok.

 

[cigrmaster]

One thing I would recommend which ever way you go. Make sure you contact the seller and ask them to look at the drilling and the fit and finish of the pipe before they ship it to you. I was just at my local B/M last weekend perusing the pipes and I ran across a few Petes in the 75-99 dollar range that were very poorly constructed. I saw drilling in the bowl that was absolutely atrocious and stems not fitting to shanks properly. They will send you a properly constructed pipe if you warn them in advance. Good luck with your purchase.

 

[JimInks]

I have a dozen Petersons from the standard system pipes to the Sherlock Holmes series, from the mid-70s to 2003. I much prefer the p-lip, but fishtail works fine for me, too. I have found all of mine to be good smokers, but I hear the lower grades in the last decade are not as good as previous years. One of my Holmes series pipes is from original production, and smokes like a dream, as do the two I have from 2003.I have regular system pipe from the mid-1970s that is similar to the one Basil Rathbone smoked in the Sherlock Holmes movies and it smokes a shade less well as the Holmes' pipes. My advice is to get an older one (pre-2000) or save and get a higher grade. However,I agree with Lazydog that if you're going to buy a current production, Nording is a better value for the price.

 

[captainsousie]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll save up and buy a more expensive new one or a really nice estate. In the meantime. A pipe that I bought a few weeks ago that was advertised as a "Patrick" turned out to be a Peterson Shannon bulldog. The huge range of pipes that Peterson offers is a bit mystifying to me so I might hold off on ebay until I know a bit more about them. It seem every Pete/Captain Pete/Shamrock/Irish Seconds pipe that comes up in that place goes for a premium so I need to know what I'm looking at. Even one I saw a day or two ago with a mangled shank went for quite a bit.
I posted a pic of the pipe I got in this thread.
Thanks again,

Sou

 

[crpntr1]

I've got four and all were estate buys. From what I've read on here estate or the very high end are the best way to go..